S&S Cycle - Vintage Motorcycle TECH TALK

Pretty much anything not covered by the topics above. Short lived production bikes or vehicles, Electrical, Tires, Paint, Brakes, etc. Use this for tech questions, and "Shoot the Bull" for general conversation, no tech.

I received a telephone call last night from a Bro and his wife in Seattle. I have known the two of them close to 40 years. Fact is, they are Kat's Uncle and Aunt. Both of them are the perfect definition of what a biker is. Age has taken it's toll on them and physical ailments have pretty much bled them dry. JC, Kat's Uncle, was a born to ride individual. Wild and free as a young man, two wheels were his first wheels. His last bike was a trike before his heart failed him. Once a patch wearer and always a biker there isn't much of the biker lifestyle the two of them hasn't experienced. The numerous operations, medication, doctor bills, and shipyard closing all but ate up his resources over the years. After having their only child, a son, the two settled down from the wild side of the biker scene in order to raise the boy and build a future for him. Their son, Brady, was born 09/07/70. Old friends were always friends and Brady grew up knowing everyone Mom and Dad knew. Brady was a mini biker from the time he first learned to walk. JC [Dad] and Mimi [Mom] say he rode before he walked. Brady was JC's and Mimi's pride and joy and they worshipped the ground he walked on with a love deeper than most have ever experienced.
One unfortunate night in 1992, Brady was involved in a horrible auto accident. He was killed instantly. The loss of Brady nearly destroyed the two of them. The pain is still present to this day in their eyes when they speak or hear mention of him. Every vehicle fatality they see on the news or read in the papers, brings tears to their eyes for the folks who now know the dreadful pain of such a loss.
When Brady was killed, they decided to have him cremated. Cremation was the only way they could keep a part of him with them. Brady is sealed in the original funeral urn and the urn rests in a special place in their home. The telephone call was a request on behalf of the two of them for Brady. I naturally agreed to their request, even before I heard what the request was. They wanted me to build them a permanent urn for the remains of their son Brady. The urn would have to be a special vessel which would incorporate the biker lifestyle and community as a dedication to the son they so loved.
This is what they have in mind for Brady's urn..... Since Brady was born in 1970 and he loved Harley Davidson motorcycles as much as his parents did and do, they want to utilize a BT cylinder/head assembly as an urn. Since the design of the urn is still in the preliminary stages, ideas first put forth are things such as sealing the cylinder. Plugging and welding up the bottom of the bore, welding the valves to the seats, JB welding or super loctighting the head bolts down, and plugging and welding up the intake and exhaust ports, were the first parts of the design discussions. The spark plug opening will need to be left open so Brady can be put into the cylinder. Sealing the spark plug opening still needs to be ironed out as well. A spark plug cemented in was one suggestion. I was considering a more rigid seal such as a spark plug which was turned on a lathe and then soldered in or affixed in another permanent way. The cylinder, we decided, would need pressure/vacuum tested before Brady would be placed into it. It makes no difference whether a front or a rear cylinder assembly is used to JC or Mimi. All that matters to them is that it looks real nice, is complete as it would be on a running engine with all the components installed, minus a piston/rod, and it is mounted to a respectable solid oak wooden base. The wooden base will incorporate a set of name plates. The most prominent one will be Brady's name and details such as his birth and death, along with a parental comment about their son. The other name plate will respectfully thank all those who helped make this final resting place for Brady a reality. We hope to inscribe all the names of those who participated in the materials, labor and details of the urn.
How much more fitting could such a request be, than for the biker community, as a whole, of which Brady was raised by and with, to respond with a small token of their hearts and generosity, and to supply the expertise, labor, materials, and suggestions for this final resting place urn ????
People......we aren't talking new parts here. We are talking used and un-serviceable ones that you may have in you stashes and didn't have the heart to toss. Of course the cylinder would have to have no broken fins and the head would need to be clean and polishable [I can get it chromed if it is necessary], Nice pushrod tubes will be in order, sealable valves, etc.., and all other components which together will build this community biker urn will be needed. I wish I had the BT parts but unfortunately I have none. But rest assured, I will do all I can to bring this request to a reality for JC, Mimi, and Brady. I respectfully and humbly ask your help in making this come true for a pair of fellow bikers. I would be honored and grateful for any and all help which brings this task to life. Thanks in advance, Pa

Last edited by Pa on Sun Jan 15, 2006 2:50 am, edited 1 time in total.

tell me what you want pa i'll donate anything i got and i'm a pretty damn good welder to if we need to weld the stuff up
have no doubt you can always count on me to donate to any scooter trash cause just like you have for mine
and no thats not why i'm doing it

Thanks Mike ! I knew I could count on you. Looks like a late model cone Shovel is what we are looking at. We know we need a whole cylinder assembly but we also need plenty of planning before we start striking any arcs. If you can spare a good finned front or rear cylinder, turn a plug for the base and weld it in, that would certainly be more than a person could ask of ya. I'm sure others may have the head, pushrod covers, and other components to add to the donations. Billy suggested facing off the spicot for mounting reasons before welding the lower bore plug in. I was thinking that was a pretty good idea myself. The post is young yet and many have not had the opportunity to chime in on it. I am grateful for such fast responces and I am excited and anticipate hearing from others as well.

I'm thinking we may need a large engraved individual dedication plague made up just to hold all of the responces to the donations and suggestions. This plague could specify names and origin of residence with a brief comment from the person named. Suggestions ?? Pa

Since you mentioned engraving I figured I would put in my 2 cents worth. I think a Memorial to the Kid that died is a great idea, but I don't think that the contributors would want, or need, to be recognized with a plaque. A memorial, it seems, should be 'Dedicated To The Memory Of' not 'We Would Like To Thank The Following People'! That being said, I don't do plaques, but if ya'll wanted a nice inscription on say the face of the Shovelhead Rocker-Box I will happily help you out.

Thanks Guys !! Your not wanting to be recognized as contributors is super honorable. So shall it be then. I will imform JC and Mimi how you all wish it to be done. They will be touched deeply by your humbleness and generousity.

You may have something there Mike. How thick is the plate and what are it's dimensions ? Will it polish up ? What are you ideas as to the edges of the plate ? Beveled ? Routered ? I think I will have to score a Shovel head for the top end though, so we can keep it correct with their son's birth year. We may not have to worry about the pushrod tubes. A local shop has donated a new set for it. I'm not sure if the new tubes are HD or not but I didn't have the heart to ask him, especially after he called us with no soliciting from us. Don't know how he got the word either. If they aren't, I'll let you know because HD is how this urn should be completely.

The engraving sounds great Indianut. Thanks Man !! It will be some time before we reach that point. I want to do a serious mock up on the urn first so all is ready and fitted, and make the engraving the final task on the urn. Thanks my Friends !! Pa

I need some part numbers for the head and rocker boxes. With the lack of BT parts books, I don't seem to have the correct year for the 70s in my library. Got earlier ohv and later 80s and up, just no 70s. Pa

Thanks amklyde.....sounds like a winner but will a 1980 head fit an early cylinder though ? What little imfo I have on Shovels list a different head for 66-79 cylinders. Will an early 70's rocker box and components fit the 1980's head ? I wish I had more experience with the Big Twins so I wouldn't be fumbling through the what fits what delema.

Thanks Curt ! I dug up some parts drawings last night from an aftermarket parts book. I will put something together today sometime and post it here in this topic by tomorrow. You folks who are more familiar with Shovelhead top ends, I hope, will guide us through what can be left out and what will be needed to obtain the outside visual appearance of a functional top end assembly without having to use every internal component in a full top end assembly. The goal is to create a sealed assembly with all the exterior visual appearances.

The responces to this request have been extremely touching, both in material donations and ideas. With the deepest respect..... Pa

Last edited by Pa on Fri Jan 20, 2006 7:51 pm, edited 2 times in total.

If you relieve the head a little around the bottom side of the plug hole (on the inside) then install a new spark plug .....with the electrode and bridge removed you can heat the remaining shell with a torch and pein it over . That plug will never come out again . Then attach the head , and fill it from the bottom instead of the plug hole and hammer a press fit solid metal plug about 1.5" thick into the bore . Some bearing mount / epoxy and it will never come out .

That is real kind of you George. I really appreciate the offer. I don't think money will be needed though, especially with all of the donations coming. The only money that will be actually spent will be the shipping costs as the parts bounce around from place to place. Instead of a financial pledge, passing the request along to others will be more than adequate.

Thanks Chuck... you ideas are definately noted along with the previous ideas of sealing the urn air tight and the unremovablity of the plugs on all openings.

I think we could use a tappet block so we can hold onto the pushrod covers as well. I am still in the process of putting a parts list together at present. I will post a drawing soon so the Shovelhead experts can point out the neccessary components needed more easily for all to see. I will list the part numbers as well. I am still working on a preliminary drawing of the actual finished urn to give you all a better idea of how I think it may look when finished. Even this may change as more ideas pour in. Thanks, Pa

Thanks Billy...I have been wondering about the drop/angle between the lifter block and cylinder base. I figure to utilize a plate that is just thick enough [maybe a piece of the aluminum plate Scoot has offered] to compensate for the differences. The plate could be used as a spacer in such a way to make up the differences. I can get the plate milled to accept the cylinder and the lifter block in the correct positions and then bevel and polish the edges of the plate for cosmetics. An engine blueprint would help for the dimensions if someone can scan and email it to me or I will just do several mock ups to get the measurements in order to do the machine work.

Here are the parts drawings I have come up with so far. Parts below listed in blue are the parts I think are needed. Additions and subtractions to the parts suggestions would be most helpful. These combined parts drawings confuse me sometimes, especially when they include several model years. Pa